Forsythia offers brilliant yellow early spring flowers

Q This weekend, we were driving around town and noticed the most beautiful shrub in bloom. It was covered with bright yellow blossoms. There were no leaves, just this brilliant display of yellow blossoms. What kind of shrub is this? Please tell me more about it. How does it look during the rest of the year? We may want to plant one in our yard. A The striking yellow flowering shrub you saw was most likely forsythia. Forsythias are widely planted in much of the United States for their brilliant yellow early-spring flowers. Many of the species are not flower-bud hardy in South Dakota. Many times you will see forsythias in South Dakota blooming only on the lower branches because they were protected by snow cover. Mild winters favor forsythias and the spring flowering can be spectacular. Forsythias are best described as a single-season-of-interest shrub as most of the species lack any interesting fruit, bark or fall color. Several forsythias have been developed to be flower-bud hardy in the Dakotas. The best known Dakota-hardy forsythia is 'Meadowlark', a cross introduced by North Dakota State and South Dakota State Universities, in collaboration with the Arnold Arboretum. Meadlowlark has consistently bloomed in both North Dakota and South Dakota and is flower-bud hardy to Ð35 degrees. The flowers are a bright yellow and the shrub has a vigorous, rapid growth habit reaching 8 to 10 feet in height if left untrimmed. It has dark green leaves and under favorable conditions, the leaves often change to a golden yellow in the fall. Another possibility is 'Northern Sun' forsythia, introduced by the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. It is flower bud-hardy to Ð25 degrees, produces an impressive clear yellow flower display in spring, has medium green foliage and reaches 8 to 10 feet when mature. Forsythias are large shrubs. Most reach 8 to 10 feet with an equal spread. They have a semi-arching habit. Forsythias do best in a full-sun location and a moist well-drained soil with a neutral pH. One other forsythia is occasionally used in the landscape. The dwarf forsythia ' Bronxensis' is a small, 3 foot tall, mounding shrub, well known for its bronze fall color and yellow spring flowers. It makes a good mass planting but is not reliably flower-bud hardy in open winters.